A star has fallen - or so the news might lead us to
believe. Elizabeth Taylor passed away this week at
the age of 79. Elizabeth Taylor, long-time well-known movie-star. But I must confess it was hard to
suppress a wave of judgmentalism: the news
reported she'd been married 8 times (though perhaps
we should give her a bit of credit as that included
twice to the same man, Richard Burton); I think the
reporter termed it a 'tempestuous love life'. Also the
summary stated she'd been in and out of rehab for
alcoholism. It's easy to pat yourself on the back
when the failures of an idol are broadcast for all to
hear.

Another "Liz" made headlines in my world this
week, in a better way: my boss at Wingham
Hospital, also named Liz, retired after 29 years.
However for this Liz I have nothing but respect. She
was a model staffer, having worked her way
steadfastly up from nurse to Director of Patient
Services to a Vice-President of the 2-hospital
alliance. For much of my 9 years at the hospital, I
was involved with her on the Inpatient Governance
Council; when she wasn't at a meeting, it was like
the rest of us almost didn't know what to do - she
was so much at the hub of what was happening. Her
dedication was lauded at her farewell event by
someone telling the story of the time she got a ride
to work with a snowplow operator! This Liz was
such an exemplary employee that I'd feel like saying
to her, "Thanks to you, I can't shirk at my work" -
she set such a high standard for the rest of us.

We are very prone to compare ourselves with others
and make value judgments. Yet Scripture, like model
employees, reminds us we're never at the top of the
heap as we might suppose we are. Paul begins
Romans 2 by saying, "You, therefore, have no
excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else..."
We are too quick to pass judgment and jump to
conclusions.

A lady in an airport bought a book to read and a
package of cookies to eat while she waited for her
plane. After she had taken her seat in the terminal
and gotten engrossed in her book, she noticed that
the man one seat away from her was fumbling to
open the package of cookies on the seat between
them. She was so shocked that a stranger would eat
her cookies that she didn't really know what to do,
so she just reached over and took one of the cookies
and ate it. The man didn't say anything but soon
reached over and took another. Well, the woman
wasn't going to let him eat them all, so she took
another, too. When they were down to one cookie,
the man reached over, broke the cookie in half, and
got up and left. The lady couldn't believe the man's
nerve, but soon the announcement came to board the
plane.

Once the woman was aboard, still angry at the man's
audacity and puzzling over the incident, she reached
into her purse for a tissue. It suddenly dawned on her
that she really shouldn't judge people too harshly--
for there in her purse lay her still-unopened package
of cookies.

HYPOCRISY: CAPITALIZING ON A DELAYED
PENALTY

Our judgments are usually prejudicial, pre-judging
the other person without knowing the whole story.
Were the bigger picture known, we might discover
we're as guilty as the other party. Only God knows
people's inner secrets; only His final judgment will
be perfect and absolutely fair. Paul writes in v3, "So
when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and
yet do the same things, do you think you will escape
God's judgment?" It's as if we think we're somehow
immune or protected from God's eventual judgment
of us for similar failures and sins.

Consider a situation in hockey, a fast sport in which
there are sometimes unfortunately violent injuries
(concussions have been in the headlines lately).
Sometimes when an infraction occurs, the referee
will raise his hand, but if the team that didn't break
the rules is in possession of the puck, the referee will
delay calling the penalty until the team causing the
infraction gains control of the puck, or play is halted
on another account. Now, suppose you're the player
that's caused the problem - say you high-sticked
someone. Let's say the other team has the puck, so
it's a delayed penalty. What if you decided to take
advantage of the delay by checking someone from
behind - then charged the opposing goalie, wiping
him off his feet and knocking the net off its posts?
Would that be smart? Instead of just the high-sticking penalty, you'd have racked up two more
misdemeanours.

Paul's arguing that when we persist in passing
judgment while doing the same things, supposing we
will escape God's judgment, we're showing
contempt for the ultimate Referee - as if we kept on
bullying others while waiting for a delayed penalty
call. Look at vv4-5: "Or do you show contempt for
the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience,
not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward
repentance? But because of your stubbornness and
your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath
against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when
his righteous judgment will be revealed." Just
because there's a delay, an interlude between the
fault and the judgment, doesn't mean you won't be
held accountable. To continue passing judgment
before the time is to show contempt for God's
kindness, forbearance, and patience, which ought to
instead be leading us to repent.

The truth of the matter could be captured in a grid of
4 squares with 2 columns and 2 rows: Now / Then
across the top and Me / God down the side. "Me-Now" we find described in vv1,3: passing judgment;
contempt as a 'mere man'; v5 stubborn hard heart,
unrepentant; v8 self-seeking, rejecting truth, opting
for evil.

In the "God-Now" square Paul notes riches of
kindness, tolerance, and patience; other meanings -
moral goodness, integrity, forbearance. The Referee
is holding off on calling the penalty.

But look what happens when we move over to the
"Then" column - what will take place in the future.
In the "God-Then" square put "righteous judgment":
v2, "God's judgment against those who do such
things is based on truth." V5 mentions "the day of
God's wrath, when His righteous judgment will be
revealed." V6, quoting Proverbs 24:12, "God "will
give to each person according to what he has done.""
The punishment accords with the infraction; it will
be fair and just. Not like the reffing at some hockey
games where they seem to turn a blind eye to antics
by the home team - that leaves a bad taste in your
mouth!

Where's that put us in the "Me-Then" square? In
hockey, the player winds up in the penalty box, or
maybe with a game misconduct. That's mild
compared to God's judgment in eternity. To sum it
up in a word - "Wrath": v5, "But because of your
stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are
storing up wrath against yourself for the day of
God's wrath..." Vv8-9, "But for those who are
self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil,
there will be wrath and anger.There will be trouble
and distress for every human being who does evil..."

Hypocrisy - passing judgment as if you're better
when you're really just as guilty - is a particularly
devilish sin: it's deceptive, sneaky, covered up. Paul
paints a little cameo of the perfect hypocrite in vv17-24. Note the way he builds the thrust of his argument
to a climax with a cadence of four "if's" and then
drives it home with five "do's": "If you call yourself
a Jew; if you rely on the law...if you know His
will...if you are convinced that you are a guide for
the blind, (a little sub-list here to accentuate the
build-up), a light for those who are in the dark, an
instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants..." (Like
he's reading down a list of credentials on some
puffed-up one's resume!) Then v21 is the climax:
"YOU, then, who teach others, DO you not teach
yourself?" (First of the 5 do's) "You who preach
against stealing, do you steal? You who say that
people should not commit adultery, do you commit
adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God
by breaking the law?" Note he's gone from the
specific to the general. And the answer to his
rhetorical questions? Implied - YES! To drive it
home, Paul resorts to the authority of Scripture,
pulling in a quote from Isaiah 52:5 - "As it is
written: "God's name is blasphemed among the
Gentiles because of you."" ZING! Scorch!

One might wonder about the 'robbing temples'
charge, but there seems to be some backing for it;
for instance, in Acts 19(37) the city clerk tells the
rioting crowd that Paul and his companions "have
neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our
goddess," as if the former was something other Jews
had done in the past. Adultery apparently was just as
big a problem back then; commentator Vincent tells
us, "The Talmud [authoritative oral Jewish body of
teaching] charges the crime of adultery upon the 3
most illustrious Rabbis." Did you catch that? Even
the official Jewish historical record acknowledges
the 3 most illustrious Rabbis - best in the business,
mind you - fell victim to the sin of adultery. Can you
believe it? Sadly, the same can be said for some of
the biggest names in Christianity in recent decades.
If even the leaders fall prey to evil temptings - what
about us average Joes?

"God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles
because of you," v24 says. Sadly that also applies to
the church. One of the most commonly cited excuses
people give for not attending church is, "the church
is full of hypocrites." And usually the person who
says that has been hurt by some instance of someone
who claimed to bear the name of Jesus but let their
imperfection show through, whether by an incident
of gossip, or shady business dealing, an inordinate
eruption of temper, or so forth. We've all slipped.
And as a result, God's name is blasphemed -
dishonoured - discredited to those on the outside.

It's not a pretty picture. In the next chapter Paul will
summarize the universality of our guilt: "Jews and
Gentiles alike are all under sin...that every mouth
may be silenced and the whole world held
accountable to God...all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God." (Rom 3:9,19,23)

If you think that in your 'natural man', at your
unregenerate core, you're any better than the next
guy - think again! Yet passing judgment while being
a hypocrite abounds. John Stott observed,
"Hypocrisy is hideous.What cancer is to the body,
hypocrisy is to the church.It is a killing
agent.Unfortunately, hypocrisy is also addictive.And
even though Jesus reserved His most severe words
of condemnation for the hypocrite, we still seem to
prefer that lifestyle to truth and authenticity."

MAKING THE CUT

So, what's the solution to the comparison game?
How's this problem of hypocrisy, insincerity, which
is so endemic, ever going to change?

First, we can realize that Jesus Christ is the
impossible standard. Stop comparing yourself to Liz
Taylor, or Jim Bakker, or even Billy Graham. V16,
"This" (referring back to v13, the obedient being
declared righteous) - "This will take place on the day
when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus
Christ, as my gospel declares." Jesus is the standard
for judgment - the whole body of His teaching,
elaborated by the apostles under the Holy Spirit's
inspiration in the rest of the New Testament,
becomes the basis for judgment. Jesus Himself said,
"There is a judge for the one who rejects me and
does not accept my words; that very word which I
spoke will condemn him at the last day." (Jn 12:48)

Do you think you're righteous on your own steam by
Jesus' standard? Are you deluding yourself by
supposing as some have told me from a hospital bed,
"I've lived a pretty good life" (meaning they're not
so bad)?! Go back and look at the Sermon on the
Mount. It was said, "Do not murder"; Jesus says,
"But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his
brother will be subject to judgment." It was said,
"Do not commit adultery"; Jesus comments, "But I
tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully
has already committed adultery with her in his
heart." Those two examples should give you an idea
how much higher Jesus' standard is.

Second, understand God's kindness leads you
toward repentance as v4 says. The referee's delay in
calling the penalty is not for you to take advantage
of by committing more faults, but by making things
right - His way. Repent; confess your sins; submit to
Jesus as Lord and admit you need Him to save you.
Make an about-turn away from evil.

Third, start seeking God's goals for your life. Note
the word 'seek' in both verses 7&8: v8 refers to
those who are SELF-seeking (how much that sums
up our culture - me me me!). But v7 shows the godly
"by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and
immortality" - they are the ones who'll be given
eternal life. What are you seeking? What pursuits
claim the most of your time? Does fellowship with
God figure in your daily planner? Do you define
'success' in dollars or more immaterially in 'glory'
and 'honour' - a life that's worthy, uncorrupted?

Fourth, with the Spirit's help, circumcise your heart.
V29, "a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and
circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the
Spirit, not by the written code..." What do you need
to 'cut off' that's been a parasite of wickedness
latched onto your life with lamprey-like tenacity?
What unholy habits are holding you back, leading
you in a wrong direction? Let it go! Make the cut,
accept the discipline of inward circumcision.

Fifth and last - go beyond hearing to doing /
obedience. V13, "For it is not those who hear the
law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those
who obey the law who will be declared righteous."
The words 'do' and 'obey' figure prominently in this
chapter: vv1-2-3 'do' repeatedly; v13 obey; v14 do;
5 times 'do' in 21-23; v25 'observe' the law'; v27
'obeys the law'. In fact Paul's whole letter to the
Romans begins and ends with an emphasis on
believing AND obeying. 1:5, "Through him and for
his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship
to call people from among all the Gentiles to the
obedience that comes from faith." It's a famous
letter for outlining Christian faith, but in Paul's mind
you're not called just to faith, but "to the
OBEDIENCE that comes from faith." IQ measures
intelligence; how's your 'O.Q.' been this week?
(Obedience Quotient) And at the end of the book,
16:26 - "so that all nations might believe and obey
him--" It's not just 'believe' with Paul, but "believe
and obey".

MAKE ME REAL

Joseph Bayly in his book Psalms of My Life includes
a poem we could make our prayer in response to
God's message to us here today - a prayer to stop
being phony hypocrites, and to start being the real
thing. He calls it "A Psalm of Single-Mindedness".